


Between the Lines

by Miss_Nihilist



Category: Tetsuwan Atom | Astro Boy
Genre: Astro Boy (2003), Embedded Images, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Issues, Platonic Relationships, Politics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23338627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Nihilist/pseuds/Miss_Nihilist
Summary: Ever since his run-in with Atlas, Atom had been acting strangely. Kenichi didn’t know what to think of his shift in behavior, at first, until Atom eventually admitted that he had something important to tell him.Kenichi didn't speak for a long time. Then he said, "Atom, is this a photo of you?"He nodded, wringing his hands in his lap and staring hard at the wall. "Yeah. That's me. And my father."
Relationships: Atom | Astro Boy & Kenichi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 81





	Between the Lines

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Astro Boy fic, in 2020. Goddamn, this is an old franchise. Somehow, the fandom isn't completely dead which is just incredible. I'm hoping to write more for Astro Boy, but we'll see how it goes. I've got a few different ideas that I'm kicking around. I want to get more chapters written and outlined before I get ahead of myself and start posting, though. I have a lot of other projects, but I wanted to write this oneshot. 
> 
> I'm going to go by the Japanese sub airing of the 2003 anime for character names/personalities. Atom's personality is a lot different in the sub versus how he acts in the dub, so if you've only seen the dub, sorry about that. I apologize if anything's out-of-character.

It wasn't time for bed yet, but almost immediately after dinner, Kenichi's mother had gotten a phone call and then she'd shooed him upstairs with strict instructions to stay in his room. He didn't know why. Something in her voice said that it was serious.

He never made a habit out of disobeying his mom, but Kenichi's curiosity got the better of him. After the way things had gone at school that day — or rather, the way things _hadn't_ gone, because class had been canceled so some stern-looking officers could speak to their teacher — he was too restless to sit still in his room.

Kenichi crept down the stairs, avoiding the spot on the landing that creaked, and sunk down onto hands and knees so that he'd be out of sight. The TV was on in their living room, casting flickering shadows into the hall where he crouched. There was a light on in the kitchen where his mom was doing the dishes with her back to him, a phone in the crook of her shoulder so she could talk while she worked.

He could barely hear the TV over the noise she was making, and her voice was steadily rising in volume, so Kenichi turned his attention to what she was saying. "I know that he's a sweet boy, but I still—!" She was cut off, frustrated, and went silent as whoever was on the other end argued. "You're missing my point. That doesn't change anything! Haven't you seen the news? Turn on channel seven."

The sink was turned off and the dishes were set down with a clatter. Kenichi scrambled back just in time to avoid being seen, but his mom wouldn't have noticed him anyway. She marched into the living room and turned the TV's volume up. The news was on and that anchor with the funny mustache in glasses that Kenichi didn't like was talking. That guy was always saying nasty things about—

 _"Atom is a menace!_ " He was saying, shaking his fist at the camera. " _Sure, he's "helping" us now, but we've all seen the security footage! He let Atlas get blown into space, a fellow robot! If he'll betray one of his own like that, what's stopping him from turning on us humans? He doesn't have to obey the Robot Laws. That arm cannon of his has enough strength to vaporize a person, and until now, it's been completely hidden from us! For all we know—"_

The TV was suddenly muted, but Kenichi's mom left it playing. She looked away from the screen and held her head in her hand, clutching the phone like it was a lifeline. "I'm scared," she said quietly. "Atom's been so sweet, but… but he's a robot. If something damages his memory unit or a wire gets crossed somewhere, he could kill people. He has so much energy that if he ever exploded, it would wipe out a city. I've always had my reservations, but this…" She took a shaky sigh. "How am I supposed to be okay with letting my son be friends with something like _that_?"

Suddenly, Kenichi wished that he had stayed in his room. He backed up quietly and got to his feet, jogging up the stairs as quietly as he could. He darted straight to his room and flung himself down on the bed, staying there until the urge to throw up had passed.

It wasn't right, what the adults were saying. Kenichi knew that, but he didn't know how to explain it. Not that any of them would listen to him.

It was impossible to understand how they could look at Atom and only see a machine.

* * *

For a few days, Kenichi didn't go to school. It was the school's decision, apparently, not his mom's. Although, he got the feeling that she didn't mind. He didn't watch any more of the news, but he talked to Tamao and Shibugaki about what was happening since their parents liked to get into heated debates about it.

It was Atom, of course. The staff and police officers had to figure out something to do and Doctor Ochanomizu was always seen coming and going from the district office. Reporters would try to catch him as he was leaving, but he always had a stony expression on his face and brushed by them without a single remark. In all that time, Atom wasn't seen anywhere. He wasn't answering any of their calls, either.

A decision was reached, though. Kenichi didn't know the specifics of it, just that he was going back to school and Atom was being permitted to go, too.

He was nervous about it, but not because of any fear. It wasn't like Atom to not leave his house and to avoid phone calls. It felt like something was wrong, but Kenichi couldn't figure out what it was. He was desperate to see his friends again.

On the first day back, Tamao and Shibugaki were there. Atom wasn't.

Kenichi had assumed that maybe Atom just didn't want to go to school anymore. He didn't have to, but they weren't going to forget about him, either. He made plans with Tamao and Shibugaki to visit his house if Atom continued to not show up for class. It was only a matter of getting all of their schedules to line up since their parents were being more overprotective than usual. Shibugaki's dad hardly wanted him to leave the house at all and Tamao's mom had taken to going with him almost anywhere with a strained smile and a too-chipper attitude.

In the end, it wasn't a problem. Kenichi and Tamao were leaning over Sibugaki's desk, muttering their plans to give their parents the slip for an hour or two. Class wouldn't start for another five minutes, so they had time before recess to talk. Then the door opened and, abruptly, every conversation in the room stopped.

It took Kenichi a moment to realize what had happened, but then he looked up. His mouth fell open in surprise. Atom was standing in the doorway with Doctor Ochanomizu right behind him. He looked as though he was about to bolt, eyes darting around the room so fast that it gave Kenichi a headache just watching him fidget. Ochanomizu set a hand on Atom's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze, nudging him further into the room. It looked like Atom would much rather be anywhere else, but he took a deep breath and managed to put one boot in front of the other. There was a frown on Ochanomizu's face as he watched, but then he walked over to Ms. Midori and said something quietly to her. They left the room together, probably to talk about something in the hall, but Kenichi wasn't sure what there was to say.

By the time Atom made it to his desk, his friends were already there waiting for him. The other students had stepped back, giving Atom a wide berth, and started to whisper. Kenichi noticed some of them looking guilty, others looking suspicious, and felt a sudden rush of anger. How dare they? It wasn't as though Atom had asked for any of this drama. He just wanted to quietly go to school like every other kid.

"Hey, guys," Atom said, eyes downcast. He set his book bag down on his desk and fiddled with his hands, refusing to look at them. "Sorry I was gone for so long. Doctor Ochanomizu was doing repairs and he had to—" Nothing that he had said was wrong, but Atom suddenly clamped his mouth shut and, if possible, curled in further on himself.

When it was clear that Atom didn't want to continue, Kenichi took a shot at it. "It's okay," he said, putting a hand on Atom's shoulder. The touch was allowed but, Kenichi noticed, it only seemed to make Atom look more stricken. "We're just glad you're alright. We were going to show up at your house if you stayed away any longer," Kenichi joked. He managed a smile.

Atom smiled back and it ended up looking more like a grimace. "Thanks. I don't know what I would do without you guys," he said. And if there was a waver in his voice, then no one mentioned it.

"Well, I know I'd be a lot more bored at school," Shibugaki announced. He put an arm around Atom's shoulders, breaking the tension in that loud, boisterous way of his. "It's not that same without you here, Atom! Don't forget that."

The grin on Atom's face seemed more genuine than before, but it still didn't quite reach his eyes.

* * *

Kenichi's mom was watching the news again when he got home from soccer practice. He used the excuse of homework to evade her and skirted upstairs, dumping his bag on the floor and turning on his computer. It had a timer to limit how long he could spend on it and a filter for "websites that he didn't need to be on," according to his mom, but Kenichi didn't mind. It was nice to have a computer at all and he was just doing a quick search.

Rather than watching the news, he went for what he wanted directly. They were always showing grainy footage of Atom's fight with Atlas but Kenichi's mom was always turning it off or having him go upstairs before he could see more than a quick glance.

A few key words got him what he wanted, though: someone had taken all of the different clips and put them together into a compilation. There still wasn't a lot, though. Most of it was traffic camera footage or from bystanders who had started recording as Atom and Atlas flew by them. Kenichi wasn't sure what about the footage made people so scared of Atom. He saw Atlas tearing apart cars and streets, sending people running, and he sent Atom crashing into a car hard enough that it made Kenichi wince, but as upsetting as seeing his friend be tossed around like that was, none of it was as unspeakably horrible as the adults kept acting like it was.

Then there was footage from a security camera perched on the top floor of a factory. There was no sound, but after a few seconds of nothing, Atom was sent crashing into the roof of a building hard enough that it dug a ditch through the rock. Kenichi thought of what Atom had mentioned about Doctor Ochanomizu having to do repairs and grimaced in sympathy.

But then something odd happened. Atom pushed himself up into a sitting position, sparking badly, and paused. He froze up and didn't move until Atlas armed his cannon. And then Atom's own arm folded back, peeling away and folding in on itself, to level off a blast that shot Atlas right out of the sky. He didn't come back and Atom stayed right where he was until a police hovercar landed and had him climb inside.

After the video finished, Kenichi turned his computer off and sat back. What was he supposed to think after that? He had known that Atom was capable of some amazing things, even by robot standards, but something that powerful… Why would Doctor Ochanomizu have built something that strong, anyway?

Kenichi frowned. He thought that Atom's arm cannon was pretty cool. The video didn't really explain anything to him, though. He still didn't understand why everyone was so scared.

It wasn't as though Atom would ever _want_ to hurt someone.

* * *

"I've seen all the footage," Tamao said matter-of-factly, adjusting his glasses. "All of it that's online, anyway. I think this whole thing is really blown out of proportion."

Shibugaki snorted. "You can say that again," he grumbled. "Dad's been talking about transferring me to another school but mom won't let him. It's getting really annoying hearing them argue about it at every dinner."

They were sitting by Tamao's desk, toward the back of the room near the windows that made up the outside wall. It was more private, not that it was hard to find privacy in the classroom. A handful of students had already been transferred to other classes or schools and the rest had moved seats so that no one sat around Atom anymore. Well, except for Kenichi, who still had the desk behind and to the right of him.

"I don't get why people are so upset," Kenichi said with a sigh. "Atom's always been really strong and he's never tried to hurt someone."

Tamao hummed thoughtfully. "I think they're all just scared," he settled on. "There are a lot of unknowns. No one knows who built Atlas or why he did what he did. Then there's whatever caused Atom to freeze up during his fight with Atlas the first time, and the mysterious voice on the moon factory—"

"Mysterious voice?" Kenichi cut in. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't see the footage of the moon fight? The one in the Tokugawa factory?" Shibugaki asked, surprised. Confused, Kenichi only shook his head.

"The camera quality wasn't very good, but it did have audio. Most of what it said was incomprehensible, though," Tamao explained. "Atlas attacked the Tokugawa factory on the moon and Atom followed to stop him. They had a pretty bad fight, but it got interrupted by the Tokugawa C.E.O. himself. I think he's still refusing to say why he was there. Most of the cameras were offline by then, so there was only one angle for the fight and a few cameras outside that caught the explosion and Atlas being blown into space. But, yeah, the voice. Atom, Atlas, Tokugawa, and Doctor Ochanomizu were all on camera, but there was a fifth person there talking and all of them are denying that anyone else was there. I wish we knew what they were saying, but it's pretty much impossible to make out the words."

Kenichi shook his head slowly. "But if Atom says that no one was there, then there must have been no one there. Atom wouldn't lie. He's getting enough people turning against him for this already."

Shibugaki started to say something, but glanced over at Kenichi and suddenly grinned. "Hey, Atom!" He lifted a hand in greeting. Kenichi turned to see their friend approaching, silent save for the squeak of his boots against the floor.

At least the class had stopped going dead quiet any time he entered the room.

"Hi, guys." Atom set his bag down and came over to Tamao's desk. "What are you talking about?"

An innocent question, but the three of them immediately went rigged. Kenichi started to say something and Tamao beat him to it. He laughed, waving off Atom's question. "Nothing!" He lied. "Hey, Shibugaki, have you seen the latest developments of augmented reality?"

Shibugaki blinked. "Ask me again, with real words this time."

The conversation fell into an easy rhythm of laughing and joking with each other, but Kenichi could feel the tension bubbling beneath the surface. Atom didn't join in. He looked hurt and he kept staring at them as if he didn't know who he was looking at anymore.

Kenichi wasn't sure why things had changed, but he wished they hadn't. Seeing that crushed look on Atom's face was making him feel sick. He wished that he knew how to fix it.

* * *

It had been almost two weeks since that fight with Atlas, but instead of getting better, things only seemed to be getting worse. The news was moving on to other stories, but they still took time to hyperfixate on even the tiniest mistake that Atom made. Kenichi's mom had relented and was letting him see Atom outside of school again, but there was a new level of force behind her pleasantries and smiles that even Kenichi couldn't miss.

And Atom wasn't back to his old self, either. He was so much quieter and he always had this far away look on his face, like he was thousands of miles away. The look scared Kenichi, but he wasn't sure what was worse: that one-thousand yard stare or how, whenever Kenichi snapped Atom out of it, he was always somewhere between relieved and disappointed.

What could he be looking at that would inspire so much indecision?

They were walking to the park after school, to hang out. Tamao and Shibugaki kept up most of the conversation. Kenichi was busy staring at Atom. He didn't have The Look on his face (for the moment, anyway), but he didn't look happy, either. He was dragging his feet and clutching the straps of his book bag so tightly that it looked like they might tear.

"Hey, Atom," Tamao said suddenly. They stopped walking next to the canal. The view of the sun over the water was pretty, but Kenichi had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Somehow, he doubted that whatever Tamao was about to say would make Atom feel any better. "Why didn't you let them look inside your memory unit?"

It felt like the warmth had been sucked out of the area. Atom didn't move. His expression changed, only a slight furrow between his brows, and Kenichi had the sudden urge to drag him very far away so that the conversation didn't have to continue. "What do you mean?" He said finally, as if Atom didn't know. Even Shibugaki looked like he was considering a hasty retreat.

"You know," Tamao continued, oblivious, "the news gives you so much trouble for what happened with Atlas. My parents were arguing about it, but couldn't you have just let the Inspector look through your memory banks? That would have cleared everything up. You wouldn't have to answer to anything. We'd have perfect audio and visual evidence of exactly what happened."

Atom was quiet for a long time. He looked down at the ground, shuffling his boots. "They asked," he said eventually. "They asked Doctor Ochanomizu for permission to deactivate me and access my memory unit because he's my legal owner." Hearing Atom say "owner" instead of "parent" never failed to throw Kenichi off. He winced. And Atom never said it with any bitterness or resentment — he always said it like the fact that it was. Kenichi never understood how Atom could be okay with it. Wasn't he furious? Couldn't he see how horrible it was? That he deserved better? "The doctor said no," Atom continued, "so they had to accept that. There are legal ways they could have gotten around it, but I don't think that Inspector Tawashi wanted to start a lawsuit with the Ministry of Science."

That should have been the end of it. Kenichi thought that it was a perfectly good answer. But Tamao pushed anyway. "You could have submitted yourself for inspection, though," he argued. "Doctor Ochanomizu is reasonable. He would have—"

"It wasn't a choice that he made," Atom suddenly cut Tamao off, startling him. Not once had Kenichi heard Atom raise his voice, let alone interrupt someone. He crossed his arms over his chest and his stance turned defensive. "Doctor Ochanomizu asked me what I wanted to do and stuck by my choice. And I don't want anyone in my head."

Tamao stared for a moment, mouth open. There was concern on his face, a frown. "Atom," he started, "I don't—"

"You don't get it!" Atom stomped his foot in frustration. "I don't care what the news says about me! I just want memories that I know are my own!"

Before any of them could stop him, Atom took a step back and activated his rocket boots. He was gone in a rush of smoke and heat, quickly nothing more than a flickering light against the blue sky.

It was silent for a minute. Then Shibugaki let out a shaky breath and said, "What exactly just happened there?"

Kenichi wasn't sure either. It took a few minutes for the answer to come to him. "I think," he said slowly, "we've been terrible friends."

* * *

Normally, it would be easiest to wait until Atom came to school and talk to him before or after class, but he didn't show up to class the next day and Kenichi wasn't going to wait for him. Atom was always helping others. It was time, Kenichi thought, for someone to help him.

He skipped soccer practice so that his mom wouldn't miss him at home and went straight to Atom's house. Shibugaki and Tamao had agreed that it was best if Kenichi went alone. Maybe having it just be one-on-one would make Atom feel better about opening up. Kenichi still didn't know what the problem was, but he'd gone on ignoring it long enough.

He knocked on the door and Doctor Ochanomizu's housekeeping robot, an old _Robita_ model, answered. "Hi," Kenichi said nervously. "Is Atom home?"

The robot stared at him for a moment, scanning him and whirring softly as she computed and reached a decision. _"Atom said that he didn't want to have any guests,_ " she answered.

So, that meant he was home and still upset. "Can you ask him, please?" Kenichi's eyes darted toward the stairs. "Please, I really need to speak to him. I promise that it won't take very long."

He knew that begging was pointless. Robita had her orders and she wasn't going to go back on them. Before she could repeat herself, though, there were footsteps on the stairs. Kenichi could recognize the distinct sound of Atom's boots squeaking anywhere.

"It's fine, Robita," Atom said. He was standing half-way down the stairs, not looking at either of them. His expression was unreadable. "You can come in, Ken. It's okay. We can talk."

Robita didn't seem happy about it, but she backed up and let Kenichi enter. He jogged over to greet Atom, but he'd already turned away and started back up the stairs. Kenichi paused for a moment, feeling lost, then swallowed his unease and followed. It didn't matter how angry Atom was — Kenichi was never going to be scared of him.

He had seen where Atom lived before (not that it was difficult since he lived with Doctor Ochanomizu and the address wasn't exactly secret), but Kenichi had never been inside. The house had a homey feeling, despite Doctor Ochanomizu making enough money to probably afford something a lot nicer. The paint was a warm yellow and there were potted plants and framed photos of people that Kenichi didn't know dotting the hall.

Atom's room faced out the front of the house, a large bay window to let light in. The wallpaper was blue and covered with moons and stars and spaceships. An iron-wrought bed was against the far wall. There was a TV on the wall and a desk with small rocket models next to a bookshelf. It looked, to Kenichi, exactly like a normal kid's room would look. Even with Atom not wearing his normal school clothes, he looked so incredibly ordinary. He stood in that room like he belonged there, and he did.

Kenichi shook the thought away. It was so easy to forget that Atom was a robot. Why did it seem to be all that anyone could focus on?

He shut the door behind them, then Atom walked over to his bed. He flopped down on it with a huff, then pushed himself up to sit at the head of the bed properly. Atom pulled his legs against his chest and set his chin on his knee and stared at Kenichi. The carefully blank expression that he'd had downstairs cracked. "I'm sorry," he said.

It took a moment for Kenichi to formulate a response. He walked over and sat down on the bed much less dramatically than Atom had. "For what?" He asked, dumbfounded. "We were the ones who messed up. Tama didn't think that you wanted to see him, but he's really sorry, Atom. He didn't realize that he was upsetting you so much by asking, and— and me and Shibugaki, we should have stopped him sooner. So, you see? It's really not your fault at all so that means you have nothing to apologize for." Kenichi managed a smile.

To his surprise, that didn't make Atom feel better. Actually, the opposite happened. His face scrunched up and, suddenly, there were tears in his eyes. He curled up, burying his face in his hands, and Kenichi found himself reaching forward before he could even think about it.

"Atom?" He couldn't keep the worry out of his voice. Kenichi set two hands on his shoulders and gave a little shake. "Atom, please don't cry. You didn't do anything wrong! You're just— you're just stressed, it's okay to… to get upset sometimes."

"That's not it." Atom sniffed and rubbed his eyes, looking up at Kenichi. "I'm sorry for… how I handled it. I hate being mad. And I never wanted to yell at Tama like that. It's… Everything right now is so…" He trailed off, unable to find the right words.

He had The Look on his face again. Kenichi hated that look.

He removed his hands and sat back, looking at Atom patiently. "What's really wrong?" Kenichi asked quietly. "You aren't just upset because you raised your voice."

Atom was quiet. He picked at the fibers of the blanket and didn't talk for what felt like a long time. Kenichi wanted to push him but held himself back. He wasn't in a hurry to be anywhere and, whatever it was that had Atom so out of it, wasn't something that Kenichi should just force out of him. Pushing had been what led them there.

"The whole thing… with Atlas…" Atom frowned. "I found out some things about myself. And my past. Where I come from…"

When it became clear that Atom wasn't going to continue, Kenichi decided to give a little nudge. "What's there to figure out? Didn't Doctor Ochanomizu make you?" Everyone knew that. The doctor had put the whole city in a blackout for a few minutes to activate his robot and, besides, why else would Atom live with him?

But, again surprising Kenichi, Atom shook his head. "No," he whispered. "I… Actually, I can show you." He unwrapped his arms from around himself and stood up. It was silent while Atom opened a drawer at his desk and searched through it. When he came back to the bed and sat down, he was holding a worn photograph that was torn at the edges. "Here. Doctor Ochanomizu doesn't know that I kept this." He looked away and extended his hand for Kenichi to take it.

He hesitated before, carefully, taking the photo from Atom. It looked fragile. He didn't want to rip it. Kenichi looked it over thoughtfully. There was nothing very unusual about it. In the photo, a man that Kenichi didn't recognize was standing proudly, wearing an expensive-looking suit. He had a large, pointed nose and raven black hair. His hand was set on the shoulder of a young boy, maybe seven or eight, standing next to him wearing a suit and a grin. It looked like a normal father-son photograph.

The face of the boy, though…

Kenichi didn't speak for a long time. Then he said, "Atom, is this a photo of you?"

It felt wrong, though. That face wasn't Atom's, exactly, but it was too similar for Kenichi to reach any other conclusion. Something about the Atom in the photo was off.

He nodded, wringing his hands in his lap and staring hard at the wall. "Yeah. That's me. And my father."

A pause. Kenichi looked up at Atom, one eyebrow raised. "You mean your creator, right?" He'd never heard Atom call Doctor Ochanomizu "dad" before. Did all robots talk about their creator familiarly like that or was it just something that Atom liked to do?

"I mean, yes," Atom agreed, "but I also do mean that he's my father. His name is Doctor Tenma. I'm…" His eyes closed, then Atom took a deep breath and opened them again. He looked at Kenichi as though it pained him to hold eye contact. "I used to be Tobio Tenma. Biologically, he's my dad."

All the times that Kenichi had been struck breathless in that conversation alone were nothing compared to the absolute stupefaction that he felt when Atom finished speaking. They held eye contact, but Kenichi couldn't think of anything to say. His mouth opened and closed uselessly. How was anyone supposed to respond to that?

"I…" Kenichi put a hand to his head, feeling faint. "I knew a Tobio Tenma," he managed.

Finally, it was Atom's turn to look surprised. He blinked. "You… what?"

The memories were hazy, but looking between the photo and Atom sitting in front of him, Kenichi was struck by the gut-wrenching familiarity. "We were in the same grade but we never had a class together. I never spoke to him, but he was always getting into trouble. Always throwing a fit or arguing with someone, and he always… he always used to sit alone, under this big tree in the yard during recess. He never played or read or anything. He just sat there and watched." Kenichi's hands were shaking. He glanced down at the photo and dropped it as though burned. "And— w-we used to mock him for what a weirdo he was. Tobio was—" Kenichi struggled for the words and then looked at Atom with horror dawning on his face. "—was killed in a car accident, months ago. It was all over the news. We had a memorial at school for him—"

Oh, no. Kenichi felt like he was going to be sick. Tobio was _dead_. And yet, there was Atom, sitting right there, _wearing his face_ , and how had Kenichi never connected it before?

"I'm not Tobio!" Atom held his hands up placatingly, looking strained. "Ken, I'm still a robot. See?" He tapped his chest and pried open the little access panel that was hidden by the seams of his artificial skin. Strangely, seeing Atom's heart pulse faintly with light was soothing. Kenichi took a deep breath and nodded once he had calmed down. Atom relaxed and pushed the hatch shut again. "I'm a robot," he continued. "My fa… Doctor Tenma built me after Tobio died and implanted me with his memories. It's not just his AI that makes me so humanlike." Atom's expression twisted into a grimace. "Technically, I… used to be human."

Kenichi swallowed hard. To think that someone would be crazy and miserable enough to even attempt that… He handed the photo back to Atom and, without looking at it, he took it back to his desk and put it away. When Atom sat back down, Kenichi asked, "So you're actually Tobio? The same Tobio that died?"

He could have phrased that better, but Atom seemed to get what Kenichi was asking. He nodded. "Mhm…" He didn't sound happy about it.

"…I always thought you looked familiar, Atom." Kenichi looked away. He had just assumed that it was from seeing Atom on the news, not because he shared faces with someone in Kenichi's school who had died.

"But I'm not Tobio," Atom said with such firmness that it caught Kenichi off-guard. He looked back over at his friend and Atom had a desperate look on his face. "I'm not him. Not anymore. I'm my own person. I'm… a robot." He set a hand on his chest, over the access panel. Kenichi wasn't sure why, but the gesture made him uneasy.

He reached over and gently took hold of Atom's hand, pulling it away from his chest and lowering it to the bedsheets. "Sometimes I forget that you're a robot," he admitted. "You're just so… human." The term _"humanlike,"_ Kenichi thought, was doing Atom a disservice. He had more humanity than most humans.

"I'm not human, either." Atom sighed. "But I don't think I'm a robot. Not really. I don't fit with other robots and humans don't like me much, either. I'm… something else. Something in-between, I'm…!"

He struggled for a moment until Kenichi smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. "You're my friend," he said simply. "And you're Atom. That's all I need to know."

Atom blinked dumbly at him. For a moment, Kenichi worried that he'd said something wrong — but then Atom smiled. It was the first real smile that Kenichi had seen from him since the whole thing with Atlas started.

* * *

The next day at school, Kenichi and Atom walked in together. Tamao and Shibugaki were already there, lingering by Atom's desk. When they saw them, they both stiffened.

Taking a step forward, Tamao started, "Atom, I'm really sorry for—"

He didn't finish, swallowing his apology when Atomsuddenly darted forward and hugged him. Tamao just sort of stood there, shocked. Watching his reaction, Kenichi couldn't help but smile, hiding a snicker behind his hand.

"I forgive you," Atom said when he pulled back. "And I'm sorry, too. I wasn't angry with you and I shouldn't have raised my voice."

"Oh." Tamao's eyes went comically wide. He smiled hesitantly and glanced at Shibugaki before focusing back on Atom. He rubbed the back of his neck, awkward. "So... we're good?"

Atom shared a look with Kenichi and grinned. "Yeah," he said happily. "We're good."

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this is shit. I wrote this in about three hours based on some fanart done by syntheticsorrow on Tumblr [LINK HERE](https://syntheticsorrow.tumblr.com/post/613682662740279296/so-youre-actually-tobio-the-same-tobio-that) that I really liked. I definitely think you guys should go check it out. And another piece [HERE](https://astroboy2003sub.tumblr.com/post/613751212688424960/syntheticsorrow-based-on-astroboy2003subs) that was done as a thanks for this fic. They're both really well done!


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